Willis Group Holdings has appointed Paul Holmes as new managing director of Al Futtaim Willis Middle East, effective 9 February 2011.

Willis said Holmes will be based in Dubai, reporting to Scott Pickering, CEO, Willis Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Holmes has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, 14 of which have been spent in the Middle East. He will join Willis from RSA Insurance where he was most recently CEO of the company’s Middle East operations.

Before that, Holmes was CEO of RSA’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) operation. Prior to joining RSA in 2005, he also held a number of key positions throughout the region, including country manager of Bahrain and UAE at separate times for Norwich Union.

Holmes will succeed Marc Slatter, who will take up the position of general manager for Willis Saudi Arabia.

Slatter will be based in Al-Khobar, one of the three office locations of Willis and will replace Willis Saudi Arabia’s former general manager Murray McLachlan who has left the group. Slatter has been at Willis since 1982 primarily in the Energy division.

Slatter moved to Al Futtaim Willis Dubai in 1996 and has been managing director of the Middle East region for 10 years.